HEALTH AND SAFETY (H&S) AND RELIGION:

IS THERE A LINK?

CIB W099 IMPLEMENTATION OF SAFETYCIB W099 IMPLEMENTATION OF SAFETY

AND HEALTH ON CONSTRUCTION SITESAND HEALTH ON CONSTRUCTION SITES

TRIENNIAL CONFERENCE 2005TRIENNIAL CONFERENCE 2005

HONG KONGHONG KONG

BY PROFESSOR JOHN SMALLWOOD, BY PROFESSOR JOHN SMALLWOOD,

DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF PORT MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF PORT

ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICAELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA

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OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION

LITERATURE SURVEY: INTRODUCTION RELIGION, THOUGHT, FEELING AND BEHAVIOUR THE GOLDEN RULE WORK IS A DEED OF SPIRITUAL VALUE VALUES WASTE ECONOMIC ISSUES ACCOUNTABILITY SUSTAINABILITY

RESEARCH: SAMPLE FRAME AND METHODOLOGY

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ANALYSIS FINDINGS

CONCLUSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS

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LITERATURE SURVEY:INTRODUCTION

RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN SOUTH AFRICA INVESTIGATED, INTER ALIA, THE EXTENT TO WHICH GENERAL CONTRACTORS (GCs) AGREED/DISAGREED WITH THE STATEMENT: ‘BELIEF IN AND PRACTICE OF A RELIGION EG. BUDDHISM, CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM, JUDAISM, POSITIVELY AFFECTS A PERSON’S APPROACH TO, EACH OF OCCUPATIONAL H&S, LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY, AND QUALITY (SMALLWOOD, 2000):

GIVEN THAT THE RESULTANT II OF 2.18 WAS ABOVE THE MIDPOINT VALUE OF 2.0, BELIEF IN AND PRACTICE OF A RELIGION CAN BE DEEMED TO POSITIVELY AFFECT A PERSON’S APPROACH TO OCCUPATIONAL H&S

THE II VALUES FOR LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY WERE 2.24 AND 2.31 RESPECTIVELY

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FINDINGS EMANATING FROM THE AFOREMENTIONED STUDY AND A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE (WHICH AT BEST CAN BE DESCRIBED AS PERFUNCTORY) PROVIDED THE CATALYST FOR AN EXPANDED STUDY TO INVESTIGATE THE LINK BETWEEN H&S AND RELIGION

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LITERATURE SURVEY:RELIGION, THOUGHT, FEELING AND BEHAVIOUR

LOEWENTHAL (2000) CONTENDS RELIGION RELATES TO BEHAVIOUR VIA MORALITY:

  RELIGION MORALITY BEHAVIOUR MORALITY INVOLVES ETHICAL STANDARDS OF

BEHAVIOUR, THE EVALUATION OF INTENTIONS AND BEHAVIOUR AS RIGHT OR WRONG, GOOD OR BAD:

MORAL STANDARDS CAN BE ROOTED IN RELIGIOUS TRADITION

MORAL LAWS CAN BE SEEN AS HAVING A DIVINE ORIGIN

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LOEWENTHAL (2000) ALSO CITES EYSENCK’S THEORY RELATIVE TO PERSONALITY AND RELIGION. EYSENCK SUGGESTED THAT THERE ARE FUNDAMENTAL DIMENSIONS OF PERSONALITY:

EXTRAVERSION – INVOLVING BOTH SOCIABILITY AND IMPULSIVITY

NEUROTICISM – INVOLVING ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, LOW SELF-ESTEEM AND TENSION

PSYCHOTICISM – INVOLVING LACK OF IMPULSE CONTROL

SOCIAL DESIRABILITY – ASSESSED BY THE SO-CALLED ‘LIE SCALE’

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RECENT WORK RELATIVE TO PERSONALITY DOES NOT INCLUDE PSYCHOTOCISM:

EYSENCK INVOKED THE CONCEPT OF CONDITIONALITY, AND FOUND EVIDENCE THAT RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS WERE ‘TENDER-MINDED’ RATHER THAN ‘TOUGH-MINDED’

INDIVIDUALS LOW ON EXTRAVERSION – INTROVERTS – WERE MORE CONDITIONABLE, AND MORE LIKELY TO HOLD RELIGIOUS AND MORAL ATTITUDES

THOSE LOW ON PSYCHOTICSM AND THOSE HIGH ON NEUROTICISM WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO HOLD RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

SUBSEQUENT STUDIES HAVE GENERALLY NOT SUPPORTED EYSENCK’S THESES

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HOWEVER, A STUDY BY LEWIS AND JOSEPH DID DETERMINE THAT LOW PSYCHOTICISM IS MORE STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH RELIGIOSITY

LOEWENTHAL (2000) SUGGESTS EYSENCK’S THEORIES RELATIVE TO RELIGION, PERSONALITY AND MORALITY COULD STILL REMAIN ON THE AGENDA FOR INVESTIGATION

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LITERATURE SURVEY:THE GOLDEN RULE

ECKHARDT (2001) SAYS THE ‘GOLDEN RULE’, WHICH ESTABLISHES A MORAL LEVEL OF CARE FOR OTHERS

THAT WE ARE RESPONSIBLE TO PROVIDE, IS A COMMON

THEME IN MOST, IF NOT ALL, OF THE WORLD’S MAJOR RELIGIONS: BUDDHIST: HURT NOT OTHERS IN WAYS THAT YOU

WOULD FIND HURTFUL CHRISTIAN: ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER HE WOULD

THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOU, DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM

CONFUCIAN: DO NOT UNTO OTHERS WHAT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU

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HINDU: THIS IS THE SUM OF THE DUTY; DO NAUGHT UNTO OTHERS WHICH IF DONE TO THEE WOULD CAUSE THEE PAIN

ISLAMIC: NO ONE OF YOU IS A BELIEVER UNTIL HE DESIRES FOR HIS BROTHER THAT WHICH HE DESIRES FOR HIMSELF

JAIN: IN HAPPINESS AND SUFFERING, IN JOY AND GRIEF, WE SHOULD REGARD ALL CREATURES AS WE REGARD OUR OWN SELF

SIKH: AS THOU DEEMEST THYSELF, SO DEEM OTHERS

TAOIST: REGARD YOUR NEIGHBOURS GAIN AS YOUR OWN GAIN, AND YOUR NEIGHBOUR’S LOSS AS YOUR OWN LOSS

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ZOROASTRIAN: THAT NATURE ALONE IS GOOD WHICH REFRAINS FROM DOING UNTO ANOTHER WHATSOEVER IS NOT GOOD FOR ITSELF

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LITERATURE:WORK IS A DEED OF SPIRITUAL VALUE

WORK IS A DEED OF SPIRITUAL VALUE, WHICH REQUIRES THAT ALLAH APPROVE ACTIONS AND BEHAVIOURS (ACCORDING TO SADEQ AND AHMAD, 1999)

ISLAMIC ’TAWHIDIC’ PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE AND EQUITY, DIGNITY OF LABOUR, AND REMOVAL OF HARDSHIP, ALL AMPLIFY THE NEED FOR H&S

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LITERATURE SURVEY:VALUES

DEFINED AS: CODE OF BEHAVIOUR, ETHICS, STANDARDS (MORAL) AND PRINCIPLES (ALLEN, 1990)

IMPORTANT AS THEY INFLUENCE THE VISION, GOALS, MISSION, ASSUMPTIONS, AND TO A DEGREE, THE PERCEIVED PURPOSE OF H&S (KRAUSE, 1993)

H&S SHOULD BE A VALUE, AS OPPOSED TO A PRIORITY, AS PRIORITIES CHANGE DEPENDING UPON PREVAILING CIRCUMSTANCES AND PRIORITIES (GRIFFITHS, 1995)

ISLAMIC ‘TAWHIDIC’ PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE AND EQUITY, DIGNITY OF LABOUR, AND REMOVAL OF HARDSHIP, CLEARLY INFLUENCE THE INCLUSION OF H&S AS A VALUE

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BIGGEST PROBLEM FACING HUMANKIND IS THE DISAPPEARANCE OF A SET OF VALUES AND ATTITUDES THAT WILL PREVENT ECONOMIC ACTIVITY FROM BECOMING ALL CONSUMING - NECESSARY TO LIVE WITH MORE INTEGRITY (INOUE, 1997)

ETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICE INCLUDES COMPLIANCE WITH LEGISLATION

A HOLISTIC H&S CULTURE RECOGNISES THE HUMANITARIAN ASPECTS OF H&S (HINZE, 1997)

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LITERATURE SURVEYWASTE

ACCIDENTS CAN RESULT IN FATALITIES, INJURIES, DISEASE, DAMAGE TO MATERIALS, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, WHICH RESULTS IN WASTE

WASTE IN SOLID AND OTHER FORMS IMPACTS ON THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE EARTH

ISLAM SEEKS TO UNIFY THE SCHISM BETWEEN ETHICS AND ECONOMICS, ONE OF THE SIX ISSUES BEING THE AVOIDANCE OF UNDUE WASTE (SADEQ AND AHMAD, 1999)

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LITERATURE SURVEY:ECONOMIC ISUES

CONCEPT OF THE ‘ECONOMIC MAN’ ENTAILS THE TAKING OF DECISIONS BASED ON THE CALCULATION OF THE BENEFITS RELATIVE TO THE COSTS OF AN INTERVENTION, MAY RESULT IN A DECISION, WHICH IS IN CONFLICT WITH VALUES AND THE ‘TAWHIDIC’ PRINCIPLES (SADEQ AND AHMAD, 1999)

BUDDHIST PRINCIPLE OF ‘ENLIGHTENMENT’: RELEASE FROM ‘PICKING AND CHOOSING’ IE. THE

PREFERENCE FOR ONE THING OVER ANOTHER, OFTEN AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHER PEOPLE (INOUE, 1997)

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EMPHASIS ON THE FINANCIAL ‘BOTTOM LINE’ TO MEASURE SUCCESS CAN RESULT IN UNREASONABLE PRACTICES, WHICH CAN RESULT IN HARDSHIP AND SUFFERING, AND CONSEQUENTLY, LACK OF JUSTICE. IN TERMS OF CHRISTIANITY, JUSTICE IS IMPORTANT, AS IT REFLECTS GOD’S CHARACTER AND HIS CONCERN FOR HIS PEOPLE (NEFF, 1991)

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LITERATURE SURVEY:ACCOUNTABILITY

ISLAMIC ‘TAWHIDIC’ PRINCIPLES INCLUDE PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY:

IMPLIES AND REQUIRES ORGANIZATIONS TO PROTECT AND ENSURE THE H&S OF WORKERS DERIVED FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITIES

IMPLIES AND REQUIRES PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE PRESERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

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LITERATURE SURVEY:SUSTAINABILITY

‘RIGHT LIVELIHOOD BUSINESS’ - ‘BOTTOM LINE’ IS ONE OF PRINCIPLES (LARKIN, 1999):

EMBRACES BALANCE AND DOES NOT WASTE RESOURCES, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT ENERGY AND CREATIVITY FLOW NATURALLY OUT OF WELL-ROUNDED LIFESTYLES

CHARACTERISTIC THAT BEST DIFFERENTIATES BETWEEN A ‘RIGHT LIVELIHOOD BUSINESS’ AND OTHER BUSINESSES IS THAT THEY ARE DRIVEN BY SPIRITUALITY-BASED PRINCIPLES

PRINCIPLES CAN BE COMMUNICATED IN THE FORM OF FIVE PRECEPTS, INTER ALIA, COMMITMENT TO CULTIVATING COMPASSION AND LEARNING WAYS TO PROTECT THE LIVES OF PEOPLE, ANIMALS, PLANTS, AND MINERALS, AND COMMITMENT TO CULTIVATING LOVING

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KINDNESS AND LEARNING WAYS TO WORK FOR THE WELL-BEING OF PEOPLE, ANIMALS, PLANTS, AND MINERALS

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RESEARCH:SAMPLE FRAME AND METHODOLOGY

26 GCs WHICH ACHIEVED PLACES IN THE BUILDING INDUSTRIES FEDERATION SOUTH AFRICA (BIFSA) NATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (H&S) COMPETITION

POSTAL QUESTIONNAIRE 17 GCs RESPONDED = A RESPONSE RATE OF

65.4%

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RESEARCH:ANALYSIS

GIVEN THAT RESPONDENTS WERE REQUIRED TO RESPOND IN TERMS OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY AGREE / DISAGREE, IT WAS NECESSARY TO COMPUTE AN IMPORTANCE INDEX (II) WITH A MINIMUM VALUE OF 0, AND A MAXIMUM VALUE OF 4, TO DETERMINE CONCURRENCE, AND TO RANK THE VARIOUS STATEMENTS:

4n1 + 3n2 + 2n3 + 1n4 + 0n5

(n1 + n2 + n3 + n4 + n5)

where n1 = Strongly agree

n2 = Agree

n3 = Neutral

n4 = Disagree

n5 = Strongly disagree and unsure

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RESEARCH:FINDINGS

DEGREE OF CONCURRENCE RELATIVE TO VARIOUS STATEMENTS:

NOTABLE THAT THE II VALUES FOR ALL THE STATEMENTS ARE ABOVE THE MIDPOINT VALUE OF 2.0, WHICH INDICATES THAT CONCURRENCE CAN BE DEEMED TO EXIST

SIGNIFICANT THAT 11 OF THE 21 II VALUES ARE > 3.2

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Table 1: Degree of concurrence relative to various statements (Part A).

Statement

Response (%) II RankSA A N D SD

A price cannot be put on a person’s life 94.1 5.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.94  1

People are an organisation’s most important resource

 88.2

 11.8

 0.0

 0.0

 0.0

 3.88

  2

People have a body, mind and a soul 82.4 17.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.82 3=

Values are important for H&S 82.4 17.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.82 3=

Optimum H&S reduces waste 58.8 41.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.59 5=

Accidents result in hardship to the injured 58.8 41.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.59 5=

Values influence a person’s concern for another person’s well being

 52.9

 47.1

 0.0

 0.0

 0.0

 3.53

  7

H&S should be a value and not a priority 52.9 35.2 5.9 0.0 0.0 3.50 8

People and the environment (nature) are inter-connected

 41.2

 58.8

 0.0

 0.0

 0.0

 3.41

  9

Non-compliance with legislation is unethical

35.3 64.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.35 10

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Table 1: Degree of concurrence relative to various statements (Part B).

Statement

Response (%) II RankSA A N D SD

Optimum H&S engenders sustainability of the organisation

 35.3

 58.8

 0.0

 5.9

 0.0

 3.24

 11

Workers should be assigned work which suits their abilities

 23.4

 58.8

 11.8

 0.0

 0.0

 3.13

 12

We as people are ‘our brother’s keeper’ 29.4 53.0 17.6 0.0 0.0 3.12  13

Optimum H&S engenders sustainability of the earth

 29.4

 52.9

 11.8

 5.9

 0.0

 3.06

 14

Exclusive/Primary focus on cost compromises H&S

 23.5

 53.0

 23.5

 0.0

 0.0

 3.00

 15

Belief in and practice of a religion influences a person’s values 23.5

 47.1

 29.4

 0.0

 0.0

 2.94

 16=

A healthy and safe work place results in justice and equity (fairness)

 17.6

 64.7

 11.8

 5.9

 0.0

 2.94

 16=

Management is responsible for workers’ well being

 17.6

 64.7

 5.9

 11.8

 0.0

 2.88

 18

A healthy and safe work place results in dignity of labour

 11.8

 64.7

 17.6

 5.9

 0.0

 2.82

 19

A healthy and safe work place results in avoidance/removal of hardship

 0.0

 82.3

 11.8

 5.9

 0.0

 2.76

 20

Work is a deed of spiritual value 11.8 41.1 47.1 0.0 0.0 2.65 21

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CONCLUSIONS

LITERATURE INDICATES THAT THERE IS BOTH AN EXPLICIT AND IMPLIED LINK BETWEEN H&S AND RELIGION

EXPLICIT LINK: MANIFESTS ITSELF THROUGH THE BELIEF THAT WORK

IS A DEED OF SPIRITUAL VALUE, WHICH REQUIRES JUSTICE AND EQUITY, DIGNITY OF LABOUR, AND REMOVAL OF HARDSHIP

IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT

INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGION AND MORALITY AND VALUES, AND THE RESULTANT INFLUENCE ON BEHAVIOUR IS A FURTHER MANIFESTATION

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IMPLIED LINK MANIFESTS ITSELF IN THE UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE OF ALL RELIGIONS, NAMELY THE ‘GOLDEN RULE’, ‘DO NOT UNTO OTHERS WHAT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU’ – WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR LIFE COMPROMISED AS A RESULT OF INADEQUATE H&S ON THE PART OF SOMEONE ELSE?

ALL RELIGIONS EXPLICITLY AND IMPLY THE NEED FOR HUMAN LIFE AND THE ENVIRONMENT TO BE RESPECTED AND PRESERVED

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RECOMMENDATIONS

THE IMPLICATIONS OF THESE RESEARCH FINDINGS ARE PROFOUND:

DOES AN ORGANISATION ONLY EMPLOY RELIGIOUS PEOPLE?

IF SO, THEN HOW DOES THE ORGANISATION DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF BELIEF IN AND PRACTICE OF THE RELIGION?

THE MOST LIKELY ROUTE IS THE PROMOTION OF H&S ON THE BASIS OF THE EXPLICIT AND IMPLIED NEED FOR H&S BY ALL RELIGIONS